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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Hockey-Community.com makes hockey more accessible

If you're like me, you've been sitting on the couch thinking you're falling out of shape fast. Perhaps you've got crumbs on your shirt, watching your favourite team get trounced and you're starting to think that even YOU could give the team a better shot if you were on the ice. Too bad your regular weekly game fell apart a couple of years ago because someone got married or injured or moved away, or you can't find a goalie and you just gave up because it's too much work to find enough guys who are available at the same time every week to have a decent game of hockey. Why must life be so difficult?

About a year ago this was me. Why can't I just find a game? I couldn't commit to the level of activity required for a league, but would love some drop in. The more I talked to friends and those in the hockey community, the more I found out that I wasn't alone. With that in mind, I set out to do something about it. I searched online for some resources to help me, but all I could find were old lists of hockey rinks from 2006 without so much as a google maps app to help me find my way. Disgruntled and disheartened, I put my developer hat on (which doesn't really fit all that well) and built a website of my own to encourage people to promote their drop in games. Then one day I stumbled upon Hockey-Community.com, and found someone that actually knew what they were doing, and were already about 10 steps ahead.

It might sound a bit cliche, but it was true. After meeting with the founders of Hockey-Community.com, I was really impressed. The team there is doing a great job of following through on their fantastic and simple mission statement to make hockey more accessible.

Whether you're looking for some facts about the game, to read what bloggers are saying, take part in contests, or find a local game, this website is revolutionizing the way people connect about hockey.

If you're looking for a game, you can create an account in a few seconds, or log in with your facebook profile. You can choose to follow any rinks near you so you'll be kept apprised of any upcoming games you'd like to join. One aspect I really enjoy is that I'm not spammed with emails either. Their website sticks to their mission statement of making hockey more accessible, and keeps it simple.

With recent expansion into Europe, Hockey-Community.com users added over 100 rinks in December to the existing database of over 6,000 rinks! They also have a goalie finder if you have a game, but need an extra player, and a mobile app to stay in touch. Because your profile can indicate which position/s you play, and your skill level, finding players to make a game is easy.

Perhaps the best part of all is it's free. Already featured in Techvibes, CBC and the Vancouver Sun, they're an innovative group that is getting a lot of attention for launching something long overdue - a tool that makes the game more accessible to everyone.

Harnessing the power of social media, Hockey-Community has created a cutting edge platform that bridges the gap between technology and hockey.

For more information about Hockey-Community.com, visit their website of check out a quick video: